It happened on the next day. I still can’t go to work since exam’s coming up next week, so once again I left the school with the intention to go home.

   I was always alert to my surroundings, and it’s obvious enough that a black van with heavily-tinted windows had been following me for the past few minutes. Whoever that’s driving it isn’t even trying to hide the fact. I don’t know what the people inside the van want with me, but I decide to make things easier for them.

   Instead of taking the usual route, I decided to walk into an alley that’s rarely used by pedestrians. Immediately, the van charges itself towards the entrance of the alley and park itself horizontally with its left door facing the entrance. Two burly men who wears sunglasses comes out of the door and charges towards me.

   I toss my school bag towards the floor as they’re coming closer and closer. Both of them reach out their hands to grab and restrain me. As if I’ll make it easy for them.

   Before they could grab hold of me, I clench my left fist and punch the man on the left on his left jaw. I punched him so hard I hear the bones break. Some teeth even fly out. The man cries out in immense pain and goes down.

   Just as the second man is distracted by the fall of his partner, I raise my left fist at him. He sees it coming and tries to block it by literally crossing his arms and protecting his head. Too bad for him but my aim wasn’t his face but his throat. I manage to punch it successfully and give him difficulty in breathing. As he’s wheezing for air, I grab his head and give him a good knee kick. And another. And another. His sunglasses fell to the ground from my first kick, and his nose is broken. He’s still conscious, so I make him fall to the ground back first and stomp at his face until I can only see the whites on his eyes.

   The driver of the van comes out in alarm after seeing the first two go down without so much of a fight. He’s holding a black stun baton on his right hand.

   I calmly pick up the broken sunglasses worn by the second man and throw it towards the floor where the third man’s left foot is about to land. He trips on it and falls to the ground. Before he could get up, I kick his head with a roundhouse kick. His sunglasses flew away, and he drops his baton. I finish him off with a quick one-two-three punch combo.

   While I’m dealing with the third guy, the first man I defeated crawls towards the stun baton. I notice his movement and proceed to deal with him. Before he’s halfway to the baton, I’m already upon him. To prevent him from crawling any further, I pick up his left foot and breaks it. Another howl from him.

   I grab his short hair as hard as I could. I don’t appreciate getting kidnapped, and I want to make sure they know exactly how I feel about it.

   ‘Right. Who sent you?’ I interrogate him. ‘And don’t even think about lying unless you want your buddies to suffer even more pain.’

   ‘T-T-The Umeda did.’

   Some of his teeth are gone, so his speech is a bit slurred. Even so, I could hear him clearly enough.

   ‘They did? Why? What do they want with me?’

   ‘I-I don’t know. We were-we were just following orders. I swear!’

   ‘Fine. I’ll ask them instead.’

   I let him go and pick my my bag. I go to the van and throw my bag inside through the door. I then grab one unconscious man with left hand and the other with my right. While dragging them towards the van, I look at the horrified third one.

   ‘What are you waiting for? Why do you think I kept you conscious and let you keep your hands and right foot?’ I demand.

   He took the hint and limp his way towards the van. While he’s taking his time, I’m already inside with the two men I dragged and closed the door. The first men starts the engine of the van and drives it away from the alley.

   ‘I’m warning you. No detours, no calling for anyone. If you try anything funny, your two buddies are going to get it. Don’t ever think I’m joking.’ I threaten the man while clutching the necks of the two still unconscious men.

   ‘I get it. So please, don’t h-hurt them.’ he pleads.

   He drives the van to a rich neighbour hood where all the huge houses and mansions are. Soon, we arrive at a mansion that’s smaller than the one Suzu lives in, but still much bigger than any house I saw.

   The van stops at the gate, and it opens up by itself. I immediately see a middle-aged man and woman standing at the entrance to the mansion. A young woman is standing behind them. I assume she’s their secretary. Umeda is also there while being restrained by two bodyguards. Speaking of bodyguards, there are twenty of them who are all ready to protect their employers.

   ‘Are those your employers?’ I ask the man.

   ‘Yes.’ he answers.

   The man drives the van inside and stops the van right in front of the entrance. I let go of one of the man and opens the door. I then grabs the man once more and get down the van.

   Everyone at the entrance are absolutely dumbfounded when they see me dragging the still-unconscious bodyguards while coming out of the van instead of the other way round. The bodyguards recover faster. Their hand are already at the pistol strapped at their waist inside their jacket.

   ‘Don’t try it. I’ll smash their heads at the floor even before you could flip the safety switch.’ I threaten them.

   Their hand freeze immediately.

   The middle-aged man whom I assume is Umeda’s father raise up both his hands. ‘Young man, let’s talk about this.’

   ‘Talk? You ordered your men to kidnap me, sir. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal in Japan.’

   ‘Now now, kidnap is such a strong word. We just wanted to talk to you.’

   ‘Your men were trying to grab me instead of telling me politely that you wanted to talk to me.’ I inform him.

   ‘It’s nothing but a simple misunderstanding. Please believe in me and let them go.’

   ‘Tell your men to throw away the clips inside their guns.’ I tell him.

   ‘Do as he says.’ Father Umeda orders.

   The bodyguards reach for their pistols once more and take them out slowly. They then unload the clips. To top things off, they even threw away the pistols without being told to.

   I look at Umeda. ‘Say Umeda. Are you being restrained?’

   The two bodyguards who’re grabbing Umeda’s arms and shoulders flinch and let go of him immediately. Those bodyguards got rid of their guns as well. Satisfied, I let the two men fall to the ground with a soft thud. I go inside the van once more to grab my bag. The man who drove the van is still inside, and he’s not even looking at me.

   I walk to the entrance calmly. All the while, all their eyes are on my every movements.

   ‘Now then, shall we go inside?’ Father Umeda asks me.

   ‘Yes. Let’s.’ I agree.

   We head inside the mansion. The Umedas bring me past a huge living room enough to host thirty people at once to a rectangle dining table that’s able to seat twenty people. Father Umeda sits at the host seat with his wife sitting at his right. Their secretary stand behind them. I sit down two seats away from them. I’m probably supposed to sit down at the seat opposite Father Umeda’s, but I didn’t do it. There’s no way I’m shouting so that he can hear me. Umeda chooses to sit down on my right side and as far from his parents as possible. The bodyguards are surrounding us just in case I try to pull something.

   ‘Now then, to what honors do I owe for this invitation?’ I get straight to the point.

   ‘We heard from Noburu there that you advised him to woo Chiyo from the Shinohara household.’ Mother Umeda begins.

   ‘That he did. He approached my friend to look for a solution to his problem, but my friend was still inexperienced in the field, so she asked me to help instead.’

   ‘In that case, I believe you know the current situation of the two households.’

   ‘I do. And?’

   Mother Umeda immediately flares up, but does her best to calm down since she knows what kind of person she’s dealing with.

   ‘Young man, we’re not in the best of terms with the Shinoharas right now.’ she tells me through gritted teeth. ‘There’s no way we can allow Noburu to have a relationship with the young lady from Shinohara.’

   ‘Sir, madam, your son told me that both you and Shinohara’s parents forced the two of them to go out with each other without their consent, and told them to break up when your relationship has gone sour. Have you ever thought about his happiness?’

   ‘Noburu is part of the Umeda family. As such, he has an obligation to-’

   Her sentence is cut off when I stand up menacingly. I stood up without thinking things over since her words reminded me of those parents of mine. The bodyguards stiffen and get ready to jump me. Father Umeda stops them by raising up his right hand.

   I sit down with a cough. ‘My apologies for losing my temper for a moment. Now then, allow me to offer some counter argument against yours. Your son here is a terrible boyfriend. He can’t bring up his courage to confess to the girl he loves, he can’t bring her to a date without being incited by the two of you. He didn’t do a single thing that a proper boyfriend would do throughout the entire duration that they were in a relationship. Even so, your son loves her. Isn’t it all that matters? Why are you involving your children in your petty squabbles?’

   Umeda’s parents look at each other for a few seconds. They then look at me once more. Father Umeda sighs.

   ‘You’re indeed correct, young man.’ he admits. ‘There’s one problem, however. Chiyo isn’t in love with Noburu. Not in the slightest.’

   Mother Umeda nods in agreement.

   I turn my neck to look at Umeda. ‘See? Even your parents noticed that. Just how dense can you be?’

   Umeda laughs awkwardly. ‘I guess I let it go over my head since I finally got a chance to be with her.’

   ‘By the way, how did it went? I take it that she’s studying at Kiseki too?’

   ‘She is, but she already went home. I was planning to talk to her this morning, but I made the mistake of talking to my parents first. They had me restrained and forced me to tell them everything that had happened.’

   I look at Umeda’s parents once more. ‘Does he have your permission to at least talk to her?’

   The two of them nods.

   ‘Of course he does. While he’s at it, I guess we should talk to her parents too.’ Father Umeda says.

   Father Umeda looks at his secretary. ‘Can you call the Shinohara household and tell them that we’ll be coming right over, Mori-kun?’

   The secretary nods. ‘Right away, sir.’

   ‘Say Bandou. Can you come with me?’ Umeda pleads.

   ‘What? What for?’

   ‘I need some advice from you along the way. I swear I’ll talk to Chiyo all by myself, but I definitely need someone to accompany me.’

   I sigh in defeat. There go my plans to watch anime in peace two days in a row.

   ‘Fine, fine. Let’s go, then.’

   All of us get up and leave the dining room. By the time we’re at the entrance again, the van that transported me and the three bodyguards are already gone. So are the clips and the guns. Father Umeda tells one of his bodyguards to get a limousine ready so that we can go to Shinohara’s house. While we’re waiting, Umeda’s mother talk to me.

   ‘Young man, I would very much like to thank you.’

   ‘Thank me? For what?’

   ‘For helping Noburu with his problems without asking for a single thing in return. You see, that child was always surrounded by people who wanted to take advantage of him due to his background. I’m glad that there’s finally someone who treats him like a normal person. I hope you’ll continue to be friends with him.’

   ‘Uh, I’ll have to refuse. In fact, I’m hoping from the bottom of my heart that this will be the last time we ever meet.’

   ‘You sure don’t mince your words, Bandou.’ Umeda comments.

   I shrug. ‘I don’t really care for flattery.’

   When the limousine arrives, Umeda’s parents got in at the seats right behind the driver’s, while Umeda and I sit down at the seats at furthest end. Mori-san is ordered to hold the fort while we’re gone.

   ‘So, what am I supposed to do when we get there?’ Umeda asks me the moment we sat down.

   ‘You confess to her and tell her that you’ve been in love with her all these years. Remember to get straight to the point and don’t stutter too much.’ I advise.

   ‘And if she rejects me right there and then, I’ll say to her that I won’t give up on her that easily.’

   ‘Right.’

   He suddenly looks very pessimistic.

   ‘What if she ends up hating me for pestering her too much?’

   ‘Then you stop. It’s sad, but it happens sometimes. Just know when to draw the line, and you can avoid the worst case scenario.’

   ‘Okay. Got it. And oh. There’s something that’s been bothering me since yesterday.’

   ‘Yeah?’

   ‘What’s your relationship with Yoshinaga?’

   ‘That’s a good question. Even I’m not sure of the answer.’

   ‘What do you mean? The two of you know each other, right?’

   ‘The thing is, we only know each other for around two days, three if you count today.’

   ‘So you’re just acquaintances?’

   ‘I suppose so. Why do you ask?’

   ‘Well, it actually surprised me that she has someone that she talks with, and so nonchalantly too.’

   ‘Is she a loner at class?’

   ‘As a matter of fact, yes. I would know, since we’re in the same class. Everyday, she would come to class slowly and just sits down at her seat until homeroom begins without talking to anyone. She never goes out during lunch break and just eat her food on her seat all by herself. As far as I know, she didn’t join any club either. She’s like the textbook definition of loner.’

   ‘How is she doing academically?’

   ‘Extremely well, even by Kiseki High standards. She’s the top scorer on every single exam, and I can tell you for a fact that competition here is absolutely insane.’

   ‘I’ve heard that the questions themselves are already extremely difficult. How accurate is this rumor?’

   ‘Comparing the exams at a regular high school and comparing those came up by Kiseki High teachers are like comparing a tricycle with a Maus tank.’

   ‘Wow, they’re that difficult, huh?’

   ‘You better believe it. You have no idea how much time I always spent just to study for them.’

   ‘And she’s the top scorer among you people.’

   ‘Yup. And all the teachers had been saying that she’s the smartest genius that ever enrolled in Kiseki. It’s a real, well, kiseki (as in miracle in Japanese), they say.’

   ‘I take it that you guys don’t count PE scores in your exams.’

   ‘Not at all. And I get what you’re trying to say. Yoshinaga had been skipping every single PE class. If she wasn’t the top scorer our PE teacher would have chewed her out thoroughly every time she disappeared.’

   While we’re still talking, we’ve reached Shinohara’s house. And wouldn’t you know, she lives at a huge mansion too. The only difference is, her mansion is a Japanese one with loads and loads of land.

   ‘Oh man, I think I’m going to be sick.’ Umeda declares with a pale face.

   ‘Don’t you dare. At least wait until we’re outside.’ I tell him quickly.

   Thankfully, his declaration that he’s going to barf turned out to be a bluff.

   After the limousine enters the remotely-opened gate, the driver has to drive for five minutes just to reach the mansion.

   ‘Man, imagine playing hide-and-seek in this huge place.’ I comment.

   ‘Trust me, that’s a very bad idea. I’ve tried that with Chiyo when we were eight. It literally took me the entire day to find her.’ Umeda recalls.

   Similar to the Umeda mansion, both of Shinohara’s parents and Shinohara herself are already waiting for us while having bodyguards standing behind them. The only difference is that Shinohara, who’s wearing a purple kimono, isn’t restrained like Umeda was.

   ‘So that’s Shinohara, huh?’ I ask Umeda while looking at his ex-girlfriend.

   ‘Yup.’

   ‘Still feel like throwing up?’

   ‘Yup.’

   ‘Well, hold it off until you walk right up to her parents. Then you barf.’

   ‘...What?’

   ‘It’ll be fine.’ I assure him. ‘Son-in-laws are not supposed to get along with his in-laws anyway.’

   ‘I don’t think they ever liked me.’

   ‘That’s even better.’

   ‘You give some lousy advise.’

   ‘Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to come along.’

   I’m glad to see my stupid advise has made him calmer. Umeda takes a deep breath and goes out of the car. So do both of his parents. I stayed back since this has nothing to do with me. Plus, there’s no need to make the people of the Shinohara side be wary of someone who’s wearing a bloody uniform.

   The member of the two families look at each other stiffly for a few seconds, then they bow at each other and enter the mansion. Some of the bodyguards remain outside, while some go inside as well.

   It took them more than an hour to talk things over. When they come out, the parents are all smiling and stuff. I guess their partnership’s going to resume once more. As for Umeda, he has a slightly disappointed look, but he also looks hopeful.

   ‘How did it went?’ I ask Umeda once he got inside the limousine.

   ‘I confessed, but as you predicted, she didn’t say yes. She did, however, assure me that we’re still friends, so it’s better than nothing.’

   ‘Well, the rest is up to you. Don’t come looking for my help, you hear?’

   ‘I’ll try.’

   ‘Don’t try. Stop depending on others and do things yourself.’

   He nods with a determined expression. ‘Got it.’

   ‘How about your parents? Based on their look, I’m guessing that things went well for them.’

   ‘Sure did. After having some discussion, they’re partners again.’

   ‘Well, good for them.’

   They dropped me off directly in front of my apartment. I would be fine with somewhere nearer, but they reminded me that there’s no way I won’t be questioned with all the blood on my uniform. Before I go up to my apartment, I remember to thank them.

   While taking a bath, it struck to me that the wish I made can make couples break up in all sorts of way. One of these days, there will definitely be a case I can’t solve. Oh well, it’s not really my problem.